Do Kwon, Terraform Labs co-founder and CEO, arrested in Montenegro
On March 23, Montenegro’s Minister of the Interior, Filip Adzic, announced that a suspect believed to be Terra Luna co-founder Do Kwon had been arrested within Montenegro’s borders. This news was confirmed by local news outlet Vijesti, which reported that the Twitter account that made the announcement belonged to the Ministry of the Interior and that the arrested individual was a South Korean national.
The South Korean National Police Agency has confirmed, based on photo data, name, nationality, and age of an identification card, that the arrested individual in Podgorica, Montenegro, is none other than Terraform Labs’ CEO Do Kwon. Additionally, his aide Han Mo was reportedly detained with him. However, the Agency is still awaiting fingerprint information from Montenegrin authorities to verify the individuals’ identities. This comes after South Korean prosecutors revoked Kwon’s passport in October 2022. According to Yonhap News Agency, Montenegrin police detained a person suspected of being Do Kwon, the wanted fugitive and co-founder of Singapore-based Terraform Labs.
On September 26, 2022, an Interpol red notice was issued for the arrest of Do Kwon, the suspected former “cryptocurrency king,” on charges related to his alleged involvement in the collapse of the $40 billion Terra Luna (LUNC) and Terra USD (USTC) ecosystem in May 2022. He is also wanted by South Korea, Singapore, and the U.S. for his role in the events.
On December 2022, South Korean prosecutors alleged that Kwon had been hiding in Serbia, a country with no extradition agreement with South Korea. This week, Montenegrin authorities detained an individual suspected to be Kwon Oh-soo at the Podgorica airport with falsified documents, and they are now awaiting confirmation of his identity. Montenegro is located south of Serbia and shares borders with the country.
Montenegro reportedly lacks extradition agreements with Singapore and South Korea but has an existing treaty with the U.S. and has previously complied with requests for the extradition of U.S. nationals. Although Do Kwon has spent considerable time in the U.S., it is unclear if he holds citizenship or permanent resident status there or has committed any criminal acts against U.S. citizens that would qualify him for extradition proceedings.
On February 16, 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged Kwon with “orchestrating a multi-billion dollar crypto asset securities fraud involving an algorithmic stablecoin and other crypto asset securities.” In response to this, the U.S. Department of Justice has been conducting an investigation into Kwon’s involvement in the collapse of the Terra Luna ecosystem since March. To date, no criminal charges have been filed against Kwon within the U.S. territory.
